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Based on intensive fieldwork among the Finnish Roma, the Kaale, between 1995 and 2015, this book explores their traditional songs. It presents an introduction to the subject of traditional Romani music and offers different interpretations of how the Roma themselves produce meaning for the songs. Performing the music is not a repetition of heritage - instead, the meanings of the songs are aimed at different contexts of everyday life in various musical practices. They not only maintain a community spirit, but also underline gender identity or create a boundary with the majority population.
List of contents
Contents: Theoretical Approach: Themes, Concepts and Methods - The Finnish Roma (Kaale): History and culture - The Traditional Music of the Finnish Roma - Fieldwork and Scope of Empirical Data - Singers and Songs Telling about the Past - The Construction of Romani Community in Songs and Musical Concepts - The Sung Place - Place as Lived, Imagined and Described in Romani Songs - «Gypsy Dance» as a Stereotype - Mystery, Secrecy, Passion and Sex - The Aesthetics of Romani Singing - «Gypsy» Stereotypes and Self-Irony.
About the author
Kai Åberg is Adjunct Professor of the Study of Traditional Music at the Department of Finnish Language and Cultural Research, University of Eastern Finland. His special research interests are Finnish Romani music and music culture.
